From Styleite
Karl Lagerfeld is at it once again with his unfiltered quips. But instead of commenting on his insanely luxe life or his grocery store virginity, he ripped Newsweek‘sTina Brown a new one for publishing a not-so-raving article about his work.
Earlier this year, Newsweek reporter Robin Givhan criticized Lagerfeld and called him “overrated”. She argued that while the longtime Chanel designer is undoubtedly talented and his influence on the industry is non-pareil, he has a tendency to skate by without criticism.
For every classic Chanel handbag or fanciful riff on the little black dress inciting lust in the hearts of style-savvy women, there have been equally mortifying examples of pandering and buffoonery: a tweed jacket transformed into a circus costume, menswear that would make a drag queen flinch, handbags that reek of self-conscious status climbing.
Givhan also posited that Lagerfeld has become too much of a celebrity.
For all the snooty ickiness with which the industry tolerates celebrity designers, Lagerfeld is the celebrity that the fashion industry has spawned. His is a different sort of promotion than that of designers who have posed in their own advertising campaigns—naked or otherwise. They are hawking a product, albeit personally and provocatively. Lagerfeld is the merchandise.
And here’s what Karl had to say about it:
“First of all, Tina Brown’s magazine is not doing well at all,” he said before ripping into the credibility of the story. “She is dying,” he continued. “I’m sorry for Tina Brown, who was such a success at ‘Vanity Fair,’ to go down with a shitty little paper like this. I’m sorry.”
UPDATE: Newsweek released a statement in response:
In the past year since Tina Brown took over as editor in chief of Newsweek, newsstand sales have increased 30% year on year, advertising pages have seen a 27% increase for the first quarter of 2012, we have over 2.2 million people engaged in our social media communities and perhaps the most telling indicator of the renewed vitality of Newsweek, subscription renewals, in a consistent state of decline since 2005, rose by 3% last year.
So there.
[WWD]
